Galapagos receives EUR4 million in milestones from Servier

MECHELEN, BELGIUM--(Marketwire - February 8, 2011) - Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced
today that it reached milestones in its osteoarthritis alliance with
Servier,
resulting in payments in 2010 revenues totaling EUR4 million from Servier.

In July 2010, Servier and Galapagos announced their alliance to develop new
medicines for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Galapagos is responsible
for the
discovery and development of new candidate drugs and Servier has an
exclusive
option to license these after the completion of Phase I clinical trials by
Galapagos. To date, Galapagos has received a total of EUR11 million in
payments
from Servier under the alliance.

"We are delighted to reach the first milestones in the osteoarthritis
alliance
with Servier just six months after initiating the alliance," said Onno van
de
Stolpe, Galapagos' CEO. "The milestones announced today involve the
optimization of molecules that have shown promise in altering the course of
osteoarthritis."

"We are very pleased with the progress of our alliance with Galapagos so
far.
This is in line with Servier's commitment to develop disease-modifying
drugs for
sufferers of uncured diseases, such as OA, a debilitating disease that
affects
12% of the world population, leading to severe and costly handicaps," said
Emmanuel Canet, Head of R&D at Servier.

About Galapagos' osteoarthritis alliance with Servier

The alliance between Servier and Galapagos builds on novel osteoarthritis
drug
targets discovered by Galapagos through its proprietary platform. For any
marketed products, Servier will have the rights to development,
registration and
commercialization, but Galapagos retains exclusive U.S. commercialization
rights. Galapagos is also eligible to receive discovery, development,
regulatory and other milestone payments that could reach EUR290 million,
plus
royalties upon commercialization of products outside the U.S. covered under
the
agreement.

About osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, typically
affecting
people aged 45 and older. It is a degenerative disease characterized by
joint
destruction and loss of cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that
covers
the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over
one
another. It also absorbs energy from the shock of physical movement. In
OA,
the surface layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away. This allows
bones
under the cartilage to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and loss of
motion
of the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also, bone
spurs
called osteophytes - may grow on the edges of the joint. Bits of bone or
cartilage can break off and float inside the joint space. This causes more
pain
and damage. No currently available treatments prevent OA or even reverse
or
block the disease process. Treatment of OA involves weight control,
exercise,
and pain relief, most frequently with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) that relieve the symptoms without changing the course of the
underlying
disease. Many OA patients have pain that persists despite these measures
and
often then have to undergo costly surgical procedures to replace their
damaged
joints. It is expected that with the aging of the population, more
individuals
will be prone to develop OA. As mobility of seniors is of high importance
to
maintaining a high quality of life, preventing the severity of OA is seen
as an
immense clinical need over the next decade.

About Servier

Servier is a privately-run research based pharmaceutical company with a
2010
turnover of EUR3.7 billion. Servier is dedicating 25% of its turnover to
Research
& Development in cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological, psychiatric and
bone
and joint diseases as well as oncology. Servier is established in 140
countries
worldwide with over 20,000 employees. More info at: www.servier.com

About Galapagos

Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG; OTC: GLPYY) is a mid-size biotechnology company
specialized in the discovery and development of small molecule and antibody
therapies with novel modes-of-action. The Company is progressing one of
the
largest pipelines in biotech, with seven clinical and over 50 small
molecule
discovery/pre-clinical programs. Through risk/reward-sharing alliances
with
GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Roche and Servier, Galapagos
is
eligible to receive up to EUR2.5 billion in downstream milestones, plus
royalties. The Galapagos Group has over 800 employees and operates
facilities
in seven countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More
info
at: www.glpg.com

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